The Cincinnati Reds have the luxury of having a very young core that's built up with mostly pre-arbitration players like Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain. There are a few players in their core, like Hunter Greene, who have signed extensions, but for the most part, their team is built up of young players on very affordable contracts.
Because of this, the Reds need to take advantage of all the additional money they have to spend in order to put the best team possible on the field before De La Cruz, McLain, and others are demanding massive long term contracts.
Unfortunately for the Cincinnati faithful, the Reds have spent a lot of their money on the wrong people. In fact, one of the higher paid players on the team, infielder Jeimer Candelario, is giving the Reds some of the worst value possible while riding out a $45 million contract with the team.
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The Reds should cut ties with Jeimer Candelario despite his contract
Before the 2024 season, Candelario agreed to a three-year, $45 million contract that would pay him $16 million in 2024, $16 million in 2025, and $13 million in 2026. He also has a club option worth $18 million for 2027, but the Reds need to get out of his contract long before the club option is on the table. In fact, the Reds might be better off eating the rest of his contract and cutting him upon his return from the injured list this season.
To say the Reds aren't getting good value from the veteran infielder would be quite the understatement. In fact, they're getting significantly negative value from Candelario whenever he takes the field. On the season, he's slashing .113/.198/.213 with an OPS+ of 13. He's striking out a quite a high clip at this point, registering a strikeout percentage of over 30 percent. His batting run value is a staggering -9.
At this point, the Reds need to find a way to keep him off the field. Having an infield with Noelvi Marte (when healthy), Christian Encarnacion-Strand (when healthy), Santiago Espinal, De La Cruz, McLain, and Gavin Lux would be much better than putting a guy like Candelario out there. It's past time to cut ties with the veteran.